Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to gastrointestinal surgery, such as, for example, sleeve gastrectomy, and to devices and methods that facilitate performing resection of gastric and other tissue.
Background of Related Art
Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in many regions of the world, particularly in the United States. In order to treat obesity, various surgical procedures have been developed including, for example, gastric bypass, adjustable gastric banding, and sleeve gastrectomy. The goal in each of these procedures is to reduce the stomach capacity to restrict the amount of food that the patient can eat. The reduced stomach capacity, in turn, results in a feeling of fullness for the patient after ingesting a relatively smaller amount of food. Thus, the patient can achieve significant weight loss.
Sleeve gastrectomy involves transecting a stomach, e.g., using a stapling device or other suitable device, to reduce a stomach volume. Sleeve gastrectomy procedures are often aided by the use of a bougie, which serves as a guide or template for transecting the stomach to the appropriate configuration while inhibiting inadvertent transection of stomach or esophageal tissue. Once the stomach has been appropriately transected, the bougie is removed and a leak test is performed to determine whether there are any areas of extravasation.
There is a need for a device and/or method of positioning and stabilizing a stomach, or other hollow organ, to avoid shifting of the sides of the organ with respect to one another during transection, stapling, etc., in a surgical procedure. There is a need for a simpler, more convenient way to perform a leak test, visualize the transected tissue, etc.